The “. com.br” Suffix Issue – Fear our Jealousy?

The “. com.br” Suffix Issue – Fear our Jealousy

Imagine that you are a Brazilian, you are browsing on the Internet and you are interested in a certain product, and when you enter the site, it is written in English (Only 30% of the population speak English in Brazil): “We deliver in Brazil”.

The payment solution is international, that is, if your card is not international, you will not be able to buy it (only 25% of the cards issued in Brazil are international). Apart from that, the purchase may be held at customs, and if so, how to release it.

You have no idea how to import this product, what the customs fees will be, you cannot pay in installments in up to 12 times, as it is customary in Brazil, and worse, if everything goes well, and you receive the product, and it is defective, who will you complain to, knowing that if you return the product, you will lose the fees you paid, and the freight cost will be very expensive?

If delivering were the same as selling, Fedex, DHL, UPS would be the biggest retailers in the world!

But there is another situation, even more embarrassing. It is when you appreciate a brand that is not in Brazil and decide to make a purchase, and the e-commerce site communicates that “you are not authorized to buy on that platform”, even if you have an international credit card.

There are cases where the IP number from Brazil is barred and you can only access via VPN!

You may also come across a situation in which you are a fan of a brand that is present in Brazil, but the product you wish to purchase is not available locally, only in other countries, but there is no possibility of you acquiring it, as the brand itself does not allow this transaction.

We live in a world where diversity, economic freedom, no segregation by ideology or ethnicity, and gender freedom are preached, and you can’t consume because you’re Brazilian?

But if you travel, enter a store of the brand and leave it with dozens of packages, the seller of the same brand will carry your purchase for you all the way to the store door!

If you adopt the cross-border strategy, it is essential that your brand has the “.com.br”, with local payment solutions, the whole e-commerce site in Portuguese, the site policy clear, as well as clear exchange conditions, the service, either by chat, email or phone in Portuguese, and finally all PDF manuals in the local language.

The Brazilian version of its e-commerce can and must respect the guidelines established by the brand, as well as the price rules, offering the entire portfolio of the available line, bringing confidence to the local consumer, and exposing what marketing defines as “brand concept “.

As only a Brazilian entity can register a domain with a “.br” suffix, any international contract that assures its brand has the “.br” domain solves this problem.

Even if you take it to the last consequences, what’s the point of having the “.br” domain of a company or brand if you don’t have any product to sell?

I understand perfectly well when a brand or company prohibits the sale on Amazon in the United States, but it is far from my understanding when the directors make the creation of the “.br” version almost impossible, or a super-human effort, despite the fact that a contract can very well guarantee rights of duties on each side, with mutual commercial benefit for all.

Suffixes such as “.br” were born to be used, to be adapted to the culture of each country, bringing greater intimacy between those who sell, what is sold and who buys. Is it only Amazon that practices this doctrine? Why don’t we learn from the success of other companies rather than cower, seeing the failure of others?

When a brand provides an international e-commerce with all the adaptation to the country of destination, it is enhancing the local consumers. They feel that their nationality is being respected, because even in a globalized world, nationality is a key consideration.

Currently, we live in a world where presence is much more important than proximity. Enabling the use of the suffix “.br” for your e-commerce in the direct sales model is a matter of presence and respect for the local consumer.